BREAUX BRIDGE, La. (KLFY) – St. Martin Parish is getting a new roundabout at LA 347 Grand Point Highway and Doyle Melancon Road.

Work on the $2.5 million project began in early August. The roundabout is meant to reduce the number of serious crashes at the intersection.

“That intersection had quite a bit of congestion, there were some accidents there and so it’s a safety improvement,” said DOTD District Administrator Bill Oliver.

One of the things making this project more complicated than most is a live oak tree – estimated to be between 200-210 years old. 

Wilson Guidry owns the land that the tree sits on. When he and his family found out about the roundabout they took action immediately.

“A friend of mine came here and he said they’re going to cut your tree down and I said no there won’t be no cutting the tree down,” Guidry said. 

“So we started a petition and we gained momentum with it. We really had a lot of good signatures, a lot of good people and a lot of good outings.”

The campaign worked. The DOTD assured Guidry that the tree would be saved.

“We actually moved the roundabout over to avoid the tree. We’ll have an arborist on site during the project to check the tree,” Oliver said.

Guidry said he’s relieved the tree will remain on his family’s property.

“It has a lot of history,” Guidry explained. “There’s been a lot of weddings underneath this tree, there’s receptions. If you ask a lot of people where’s the high school they say well just turn at the big oak tree.”

The DOTD will slightly shift the path of Doyle Melancon Road. The project also calls for drainage work and relocating utilities to make way for the roundabout. The blinker lights will also be removed.

The DOTD expects the roundabout to be finished by June 2019.